Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just saw one of these in a classified and i thought they looked really neat. How big do these moniros get and where can I find a care sheet?
Thanx
Erik

Argus monitor size is about 1 meter (3 feet) and 3 kg (7 pounds) for the females, 1.5 meters (5 feet) and 10 kg (20 pounds) for the males.

The following link is to a web page that gives the basic description of these beasties:
http://www.pizards.com/hbd/argus.html

This link is about how I care for mine:
http://www.pizards.com/hbd/tricks.html

Good luck, and watch your fingers!

Luke

there is a thing called reality that actual keepers see.

argus males sometimes get 5 feet, not all the time. they are also not big biters, they are more for tail whipping and scratching if you piss them off. and actually they usually just stand there ground and huff and puff.

andrew

Well, all of mine have reached 5 feet or close to it. By 9 to 12 months they are generally sexually mature and about 3.5 feet or so. In their second year they add another foot, and by their third year they have pretty much maxed out at around 5 feet. But that's just my experience.

I tend to disagree that they are not biters. It is true that they only rarely bite defensively (although I've had some very self confident males that would rip the heck out of anyone or anything they thought was dissing them). They do, however, have an extremely strong feeding response, and this is where most of my argus bites have occured. Be very careful at dinner time. I recommend a pair of 18 inch hemostats, but even this is not always enough of a guard against a hungry monitor (notice that hemostats have two ends, and when in use both ends have a hunk of meat on them!). Feeding through narrow slits of a barely opened sliding door or just tossing food into the cage is recommended.

Luke

First off, let me be honest, I have little argus experience compared to some here. I acquired my first pair a couple years back now. I have since owned quite a few.

You would have to be pretty stupid to get bit by an Argus, like hand feeding one. If somebody is into that, then they are into monitors for the wrong reasons.

This is my pup, I kept him because he was the first one to hatch out of his clutch so I kept him. He turned over all the others.

andrew

Well color me stupid, but I have been bitten when feeding arguses. I wasn't feeding them by hand, either (that really would be stupid!). I've had them bite the thing on the other end of the hemostats from the mouse (that is, me) - just a lunge faster than a human can react and you've got a series of bleeding slashes on your fingers. I've had them go into feeding mode when I was just around the cage but did not have food (that one was quickly rehomed, after I took three bites from it). It happens. Be careful.

Of course, I've been concentrating mostly on arguses for the last 10 years, and I've only received a few bites. I also think that with proper caution, you can pretty much elminate the risk. With my big males I take no chances. With the youngsters I'm less careful, and so sometimes I get tagged.

Luke

argus are a lot of fun.

there care is straight forward but not an easy undertaking. they eat a lot (my male eats 10 mice a week, he would eat a lot more if i let him).

i think a minimum of an 8x4 for adults is a good start. they like to dig and they like to be able to see out. they need to drink but don't need to soak, although they don't mind that either. keep them hot (130ish on the basking, 85 ambient, 80 cool end). give them atleast a foot of dirt, 2 or 3 is better.

this is a start, andrew

He asked about argus cross, not an argus. Holy moly, hahahahahahaha.

Keeping crosses is the same as keeping any old medium sized monitor. Same temps, dirt for substrate, same food, water to drink.

Crosses do not get as large as argus, normally or ever as far as I know. They are also, not as agressive. But like others mentioned, argus are not biters, except if they think your food. The problem is, they think everything is food(males)

The crosses seem to get 3 1/2 feet as males. I am sure you can pump one up a little larger, but the would raise the question, why?

The whole gouldi complex are similiar in requirements and a whole lot of fun to keep. Good luck FR

You have to keep in mind though, since the complex is so large, habitats can range greatly, therefore some aspects of husbandry, humidity, diet, temps etc. can vary slightly from one gouldii to the next... but overall, they are rather indifferent I suppose, as long as general argus needs are met.